Gallup: 60 Percent Of U.S. Willing To Pay More For American-Made Products

A sticker with the words ‘Made in China’ is seen on the bottom of a scale. A recent Gallup Poll indicates that over half of people in the United States would be willing to pay more for a product made in America. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

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WASHINGTON (CBSDC) – According to the results of a new Gallup Poll, six out of every ten people in the United States would be willing to pay more for products made in America.

The survey, which was conducted in April and polled 1,012 adults throughout the nation about their purchasing philosophies, also found that 45 percent of shoppers also make a concerted effort to buy American.

A release regarding the survey noted, “When asked why, these shoppers mainly cited patriotic or altruistic goals related to the national economy, including creating and keeping jobs in the U.S., rather than product-specific considerations such as quality, safety, or cost.”

Patriotism indeed figured big in the spending habits of those who tended toward products manufactured in the United States – 32 percent of participants cited this as their main reasoning.

As mentioned, a minority of consumers rated product quality as a factor in their decision to buy items made in the United States – just 13 percent listed it as their primary motivator. Additionally, three percent of participants cited a mistrust of products made elsewhere as their reason.

While many voiced support of focusing spending on American-made items, a significant portion of the population told Gallup that they did not feel the same inclination.

“Though a substantial percentage of Americans, 45 percent, say they have made a special effort to buy U.S.-made products in recent months, more, 54 percent, have not made an attempt to do so,” the release noted.

A generational gap was observed by Gallup researchers in regards to demographics that tended toward buying American and those that were more lax about the origin of their products.

According to the survey, only 20 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 sought out United States-based products, whereas 61 percent of Americans ages 65 and above made the same effort.

“Younger Americans may be more accustomed to getting their products from overseas,” researchers stated. “[A]nd with international free trade agreements increasingly common, they may not have been exposed to as much pressure to ‘buy American.'”